Home Secretary John Reid has ordered a report to re-examine the Dangerous Dogs Act as attacks across the country continue to hit the headlines.

The move signals a switch in official Government policy after the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - lead office on animal issues - said the legislation was sufficient.

Mr Reid has called for a report to be drawn up on areas including sentencing and micro-chipping animals.

He said: "I fully understand and appreciate that it is a matter of great concern to a large number of people.

"This is not an issue which can be ignored or fobbed off. I have previously said that if there is sufficient evidence to justify another look at legislation I will do so.

"I will ask my officials to look at those areas where sentencing and identification might have an impact or any areas of overlap in the legislation."

The call to re-examine the law comes in the wake of the Telegraph & Argus Curb Danger Dogs campaign.

The Dangerous Dogs Act was hastily drawn up after six-year-old Rukhsana Khan suffered terrible injuries when she was savaged by a pit bull terrier near her Bradford home in May 1991.

But the T&A is trying to persuade the Government that, 15 years on, the legislation is failing to protect the public as horrific dog attacks are common both in our district and around the country.

Our Curb the Danger Dogs Campaign is intended to persuade the Government to ensure that: l Compulsory registration for all dogs is introduced, rather than the current system which limits it to certain breeds l All dogs are micro-chipped to allow ownership to be traced l Mandatory life bans from dog ownership are introduced for anyone convicted of having a dangerous dog l A record of control orders is kept on every dog's registration and a specific offence of allowing a dog to stray is added to the Act with fixed penalty fines for owners to prevent dogs being out-of-control at any time.

The campaign has also received support from Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt after five-month-old Cadey-Lee Deacon was savaged by two rottweiler guard dogs at a pub in Ms Hewitt's Leicester constituency on September 23.

She said: "I support the calls to tighten existing legislation. I am aware of a number of different proposals and am currently consulting with local residents on the best way forward.

"I will certainly be raising this issue with Ministerial colleagues."

Sue Brown, 58, was attacked by a rottweiler as she walked in Heaton Woods, causing horrific injuries to her right arm.

She was left bleeding in the park and fears the dog's owner will not be prosecuted as there is not enough evidence to link the dog to the owner - one of the areas Mr Reid vowed will be re-examined.

Coincidentally, Mrs Brown was Rukhsana Khan's teacher.

Miss Khan, now 21, said she still bore physical and mental scars of the attack on her and continued to be terrified of dogs.

She is also supporting our campaign, along with Keighley MP Ann Cryer, Shipley MP Philip Davies and Bradford West MP Marsha Singh who has pledged to press ministers to tighten the loopholes in legislation which have failed to protect people from attacks.

The Dog Legislation Advisory Board, together with the Metropolitan Police, is currently preparing a draft report and it is thought the proposals will include new police powers to raid homes where it is suspected dangerous dogs are being kept, harsher fines for owners who fail to keep their dogs under control, compensation to victims and up to six months' imprisonment for owners who defy court orders to keep dogs on a lead or muzzled.

e-mail: newsdesk@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

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HOW YOU CAN SIGN OUR PETITION

You can back our Curb the Danger Dogs Campaign by signing our petition, which will be submitted to the Home Secretary, John Reid.

We want to collect as many signatures as possible in the next month to show Mr Reid the strength of feeling in the district about the inadequacies of the Dangerous Dogs Act and to put pressure on him to better protect the public against dog attacks by acting on the changes to the law we have outlined on the petition.

You can support our campaign simply by adding your own name on the petition online at our publi-cation's website www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk. Or you can print out the petition and ask family, friends and colleagues to sign as well. The more signatures we receive, the stronger our message.

But whatever you can do will add weight to our campaign and help to make it clear to Mr Reid the strength of public feeling regarding the desperate need to change the current law.

Remember, you need to return copies of the petition to the T&A (the address is at the foot of the form) by Thursday, October 12.

We will then submit all the forms we receive to the Home Office.

  • Click here to sign the petition on-line

  • Or click here to download a copy of the petition to print out